#yrichmond

As the summer comes to a close, I’ve decided to take a good look at everything I’ve done and learned through YRichmond. I overcame my fear of heights zip-lining at Belle Isle,  lost a pair of sunglasses to the James River, and discovered that if all else fails, I have a potential career in sushi rolling.

In more professional news, I had the opportunity to learn from some pretty amazing people throughout the course of the program. What they all taught me is valuable information that is not necessarily earth shattering, but is essential for anyone who wants to live a happy and successful life.

A trending theme for the personal and professional development events was encouraging interns to seek out a career that aligns with their passions, values, and creative energy.

Scott Wayne of the Frontier Project was the keynote speaker for the Workforce Readiness Summit. He had everyone write down what they're passionate about, then asked us to write down what we all want to do post-graduation. Then he told us if what we wrote down didn't line up with any of our passions, cross it out. Scott also said something that really stuck with me. The top 5%, the most successful people in the whole world, did not become the top 5% by seeking out money or fame. They became the top 5% by following their passions and doing what they love. That's pretty powerful if you ask me. (I can think of finance majors who should take a good look at that statement.)

Mark Fernandes and Danielle Aaronson of the Luck Companies reaffirmed the importance of my values, and that my goal has really always been to live a purposeful and intentional life. They also reminded me that every once and a while I need to take a step back, give myself a break, and be mindful of why I’m doing whatever it is that I’m doing.  Values Based Leadership and the idea of “life on purpose” is an important notion for pretty much everyone to understand. Mark stressed the importance of ‘finding your dance floor’, or finding that place, that job, that company where you truly shine. This doesn’t simply mean finding something you’re good at. I’m good at watching Netflix for several hours at a time- that doesn’t mean that that’s what I should do with the rest of my life, or that I should find a job that allows me to do such. Finding my dance floor means figuring out whatever it is that I’m most passionate about, that thing that incorporates my values, interests, and talents and making sure that the dance floor in which I do all of this is located in a place where those around me have the same values and encourage my passions and interests.  That might sound close to impossible, but I think it’s worth the challenge.

Noah Scalin, the artist known for his Skull-A-Day project, focused on the creativity aspect of the Dance Floor Challenge (which I just made up and should probably become a huge movement). With advice like realize that you can’t be perfect, get out of your environment and comfort zone, and collaborate with others around you, it is clear that the processes used in the artistic world are translatable to us less seemingly creative folk. The best piece of advice Noah shared was to pay attention to your world. Or as a very wise man once said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Christy Coleman, the CEO of the Tredegar Museum, enforced what others had mentioned. Find what you love, and go do it. More than that, once you find whatever it is that you’re passionate about, be ready to do whatever it takes to achieve it. I think Christy’s advice may have been the most important of all. Anyone can figure out what they’re passionate about and what they love to do, but it takes hard work and some serious dedication, willingness to fail, persistence, and a can’t stop-won’t stop attitude to actually achieve that goal.

YRichmond’s second event of the summer, Building Your Personal Brand, was an insightful look at how we, as future Young Professionals, can use social media to create our own personal brand. Chris Mumford of the Martin Agency, Jim Coe of Tumblr, and Doug Orleski, creator of RVA Coffee Stain gave a lot of great advice on what tools and skills we have as millennials, and how best to utilize them for our future career search.

This event left me thinking about how we, the millennials, contribute to our own personal brands every day. My first thought jumps to my Twitter feed, and all of my classmates and acquaintances who should consider re-evaluating their brand strategy. Hint: maybe re-tweeting S*** Slutty Girls Say is not in your best interest, but hey, what do I know? Our social media use started in the early days of middle school (may my MySpace page remain forever in the depths of the cyberspace abyss), and has become a large part of our lives. In high school, and even maybe freshman year of college (wait, definitely freshman year of college) I doubt any of us were concerned about the pictures that went up, that maybe weren’t the most flattering or sophisticated. Pics or it didn’t happen right?

This was on my mind yesterday, but I forgot to talk about it. I get nervous, so if it isn’t on a slide I probably won’t say it.

Be supportive, inspire someone. It can be scary when you first start putting creative ideas out in public. The fear of people saying “you suck” is enough for people to keep their art hidden in journals and notebooks for their entire lives.

You would be surprised by what a little encouragement can do for someone. It inspires them, and keeps them creating. It might not be good now, but that little bit of encouragement gives them the juice to keep going.